Back to reality for Iran against Sparkling Spain

The Kazan Arena will play host to the first ever international fixture between Iran and Spain on Wednesday evening, a match that has become a little more intriguing following Iran’s fortuitous victory over Morocco. With 3 points already in the bag, Carlos Querioz’s side will no doubt be on a high but now comes the ultimate test against a free-flowing Spain team eager to show why they're most people’s tip to go all the way after the first round of games.

🇮🇷

After clinching their first World Cup victory since 1998, Iran are the surprise leaders of Group B. Should they avoid defeat here and still be leading the way come the end of this clash with Spain, they will have to be regarded as serious contenders to make it out of the group.

However, keeping Costa, Silva, Isco, Iniesta quiet for a whole 90 minutes surely has to be one of the impossible tasks of international football, and one they’re likely to struggle with.

Their case isn’t helped by the absence of key defender Roozbeh Chesmi, instrumental in Iran preserving a clean sheet against Morocco - he’s out for the rest of the tournament. Stepping-in to partner first choice centre back is likely to be either, veteran Pejman Montazeri, one of the top performers for the Lions of Persia in Brazil four years ago, or Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh.

Quite rightly Queiroz will set up his side with a defensive mentality against an opponent the quality of Spain but they’ll have to possess more of a threat going forwards than they did against Morocco. Scoring without attempting a shot, as they did in the second half of their fortunate victory, was a case of the footballing gods smiling on the Iranians rather than good tactics from the former Real Madrid manager.

🇪🇸

Despite the managerial chaos which overshadowed the build-up to their group opener, Spain, on the whole, have to be praised for a highly impressive display against Portugal. Their traditional scintillating style of total football wowed the purists, while also hushing claims of a rift between the strong Real Madrid and Barcelona contingent following the departure of Julen Lopetegui. For now, at least.

As ever, Iniesta the Immortal, dominated midfield proceedings alongside the imperious David Silva and equally masterful Busquets, while Diego Costa proved just why he’s one of the most feared strikers around with two well taken goals.

If the same four players match the performance levels seen against Portugal, then there’s every chance of La Furia Roja racking up a few goals.

In truth though, Spain may not need to be at their free-flowing best to overcome what appears to be a limited opponent. Stand-in boss Fernando Hierro will however be hoping David De Gea recovers from an error strewn display last Friday evening to keep matters in check at the other end.

Nacho, scorer of one of the goals of the finals so far, is set to retain his place at right back if first choice Daniel Carvajal fails to recover from injury. Otherwise, Spain are set to chase victory with an unchanged XI.

Betting Tip

It’s fair to say Iran denying the 2010 Champions a much needed three points would certainly be in keeping with the pattern of the tournament but this seems highly unlikely. Spain know full well the importance of claiming their first win here and will be out to attack from the very first whistle. Should they register early, then a long evening could be on the cards for Iran.

Bet Spain to win & the match to feature over 3.5 goals on Coral